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For the first time, alcohol extracts of Atelopus hoogmoedi from the Guiana Shield in Suriname and Guyana were analyzed for the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and of its analogues by high resolution hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. One specimen from Suriname was found to contain TTX and 4-epiTTX. Using a monoclonal antibody-based immunohistochemical staining technique,...
Toads of the genus Melanophryniscus contain toxic alkaloids sequestered from a diet of mainly ants and mites. Wild-caught specimens of M. klappenbachi were fed an alkaloid-free diet and their alkaloid profile was analyzed during 38 months in captivity. Individual alkaloid patterns varied considerably. Over time, the concentration of two alkaloids, pumiliotoxin 251D and 3,5-disubstituted indolizidine...
To cope with toxic metabolites plants use for defence, herbivorous insects employ various adaptive strategies. For oviposition, the fruit fly Dacus siliqualactis (Tephritidae) uses milkweed plants of the genus Gomphocarpus (Asclepiadaceae) by circumventing the plant's physical (gluey latex) and chemical (toxic cadenolides) defence. With its long, telescope-like ovipositor, the fly penetrates the exo-...
Salamanders have evolved a wide variety of antipredator mechanisms and behavior patterns, including toxins and noxious or adhesive skin secretions. The high bonding strength of the natural bioadhesives makes these substances interesting for biomimetic research and applications in industrial and medical sectors. Secretions of toxic species may help to understand the direct effect of harmful substances...
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) and its analogues occur in a wide range of marine animals but also in terrestrial vertebrates such as frogs, toads and newts. Despite numerous studies on TTX in New World newts (Notophthalmus viridescens, Taricha spp.), few data only exist for Asian newts. Methanolic extracts of newts from China (Cynops orientalis, Pachytriton labiatus, Paramesotriton chinensis), Vietnam (Paramesotriton...
Butterflies of the genus Danaus are known to sequester toxic cardenolides from milkweed host plants (Apocynaceae). In particular, Danaus plexippus efficiently sequesters and stores these compounds, whereas D. chrysippus, is considered to poorly sequester cardenolides. To estimate its sequestration capability compared with that of D. plexippus, larvae of both species were jointly reared on Asclepias...
Caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, feed on milkweed plants, Asclepias spp. (Apocynaceae), and sequester their toxic cardenolides aimed at deterring predators. Nevertheless, Chinese praying mantids, Tenodera sinensis, consume these caterpillars after removing the midgut (“gutting”) including its plant content. In the present study, monarch caterpillars raised on A. curassavica,...
Frogs of the genus Phyllobates from Colombia are known to contain the highly toxic alkaloid batrachotoxin, but species from Central America exhibit only very low levels or are entirely free of this toxin. In the present study alcohol extracts from 101 specimens of Phyllobates lugubris and Phyllobates vittatus and 21 of three sympatric species (Dendrobates pumilio, Dendrobates auratus, Dendrobates...
The International Society on Toxinology (IST) was founded in 1962 with its main purpose to advance knowledge on venoms, poisons and toxins of animal, plant and microbial origin. World Congresses of the Society and Symposia of the IST-Sections (European, Pan-American, Asia-Pacific) are regularly organized to promote communication and exchange of results in toxinology research. The officers of the Society,...
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) and its analogue 6-epiTTX had been detected in the red-spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. Thirty specimens of a population from Pennsylvania, USA were histologically examined for the presence of intestinal parasites. More than 50% were found to be infected with nematodes (Trichocephalidae), trematodes or cestodes (Pseudophyllidae). The mean values of TTX and 6-epiTTX in parasitized...
Efts and adult specimens (n = 142) of the red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens from various locations in Canada and USA were analyzed for the presence of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and of its analogues 6-epitetrodotoxin and 11-oxotetrodotoxin. Considerable individual variations in toxin levels were found within and among populations from New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia ranging from...
From six Conus species (Conus coronatus, Conus lividus, Conus mozambicus f. lautus, Conus pictus, Conus sazanka, Conus tinianus) collected off the eastern coast of South Africa the venoms were analyzed using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Between 56 and 151 molecular masses most in a range of 1000 to 2500 Da, were identified. Among the six venoms, between 0 and 27% (C. coronatus versus C. sazanka) of...
High levels of tetrodotoxin (TTX) and of its analogue 6-epi-tetrodotoxin have been detected in skin and liver extracts of the red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens assayed by a post-column fluorescent-HPLC system. Using a monoclonal antibody-based immunoenzymatic technique, TTX was localized in the granular glands of the epidermis as well as in the muscle layer between the muscle fibres, but...
The venom from the solitary bee Osmia rufa (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) was analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques. Sensitive proteomic methods such as on-line LC–ESI-MS and nanoESI-MS analyses revealed more than 50 different compounds with molecular masses ranging from 400 to 4000Da. The major component has a monoisotopic molecular mass of 1924.20Da and its amino acid sequence was...
Fish species of the genera Amphiprion and Premnas (Perciformes: Pomacentridae) as well as various crustaceans seek protection from predators among the tentacles of sea anemones, where they live essentially unharmed from stinging by the host's nematocysts. The mucous coats of anemonefish and crustaceans have been suggested as mechanisms that prevent the discharge of the nematocysts upon contact. Whereas...
In two species of meloid beetles, Hycleus oculatus and Hycleus tinctus, from southern Africa, cantharidin and demethylcantharidin (palasonin) were assayed quantitatively. For cantharidin the mean value per specimen was about 1mg for H. oculatus and 0.2mg for H. tinctus, the mean palasonin concentration was 20 (H. oculatus) and 12 times (H. tinctus) lower, respectively. However, considerable individual...
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